Kansas Flint Hills Quilt Trail

Driving through the countryside anywhere in the world you will likely come across many barns. They drape the country in many designs, colors and architecture. Some barns are painted to display advertisements. However, a woman named Donna Sue Groves, from Adams County, Ohio wanted to honor her mother by hanging a colorful painted quilt block on her barn. Instead of just one quilt block, she began a community project with twenty quilt blocks being displayed along a driving trail to encourage visitors to travel through the countryside. This was the start of the first quilt trail in America. According to Suzi Parron who authored Barn Quilts and the American Quilt Trail Movement, quilt trails are now being organized all across the country. Quilt blocks are displayed on barns around the countryside and then mapped out for tourists to follow these amazing works of art. The quilt trails draw visitors into our rural communities as well as promote county-wide pride and showcase agriculture. Traditional stars and various quilt patterns are now being displayed on barns, homes, sheds and sides of buildings throughout the Flint Hills. They are also put on posts and displayed in yards and parks. The newly formed Kansas Flint Hills Quilt Trail, as part of the Kansas Flint Hills Tourism Coalition, promotes the quilt art through the Kansas Flint Hills, as well as promoting the beauty and the agricultural history of the Flint Hills. The Kansas Flint Hills Quilt Trail partners with the American Quilt Trail, joining the art form nationwide, offering the quilt art for public viewing. Map Your Trip Through The Kansas Flint Hills Barn quilt enthusiasts will find location information for the quilt blocks available for public viewing on the "quilt trail" tab at www.ksflinthillsquilttrail.com